A Year In Pop: 14

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

After last week's total damp squib (lowest polling numbers ever, too) - this is more like it. Too much more like it you might say with 12!!! new entries as the charts have a big old spring clean. At least 3 tracks here which have had their own poptimists thread! GET TICKING!

[Poll #963576]

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Gosh there are a lot.

Mark Ronson - I haven't heard the original and I can still sense the over-reverence towards it, and it's reverence pretending to be radical, and do not drag the Supremes into this mess of a record!!!!!! Mark Ronson = Jools Holland of funk/soul/whatever this is meant to be, anyway.

Timba/Justin/Nelly - all three are increasingly smackable, I think...Nelly, only because of the weird pout she makes on red carpets, but Justin seems very in love with himself and his status as Very Important Popstar. The Timba album is pretty bad, apart from a couple of tracks, incidentally. This is boring, I like the idea of the disses but: a) Timba, you have been no better than Storch lately b) Nelly, Fergie is like you but a bit more inventive c) Justin shut up.

Beyonce and Shakira - love it, it's 'Hips Don't Lie' crossed with 'Baby Boy', it's both of them going..."hey, world? Excited that your two biggest female popstars are getting together for a genre-busting monster of a hit? ...nah, we'll do a generic club banger/brand exercise innit, and we won't pretend it's anything more than that unlike Timbaland". Beyonce! Beyonce! Shakira! Shakira! You can't tell them apart in the video, it's pretty freaky.

Arctic Monkeys - I have still not heard a note by this band :) Worst thing here by miles.

My Comical Romance - shutupgoaway&c&c

Erasure - as queasy and wrong as ever I see

Natasha B - BABIES BABIES BABIES BABIES :D

Little Man Tate - didn't bother with this either, I doubt it'll be an improvement on their last

Dan Le Sac - oh god this is AWFUL AWFUL X A BILLION - had to review this in new Plan B singles column and aaargh it's like being cornered by a pub bore for hours on end. This year's 'Everybody's Free To Wear Sunscreen', reams of crap advice and dull platitudes and lazy puns all passing themselves off as wisdom.

Ne*Yo - this is excellent, smooth but bouncy, like Omarion's 'Entourage' - think this will grow on me even more. All the people on the rolling r&b thread love Ne*Yo - I must remember to check out his albums. I think this is the first song I hadn't heard before it entered the top 40, which I was then moved to download.

Mika and Linkin Park oh I cannot be bothered any more. Hang on Linkin Park still release singles? Well well.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Why is that all in italics? Aaargh html.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The Mark Ronson one really reminds me of Playgroup - similarly laborious (though I liked Playgroup for a bit when it came out).

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I've never heard Playgroup! Oddly I didn't mind Mark Ronson's first album, though admittedly that was not minding it on the understanding that I'd never have to hear it again.

He produced the Amy Winehouse album which is why this is getting attention I'd guess, though the production is basically the worst thing about that album.

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

Lex you HAVE heard the Arctic Monkeys. I sent you a copy of Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor under the guise of Back In Black by the A-Team featuring Grace Jones.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Haha I remember that! I forgot to listen to it which is a BLESSED RELIEF now. It still resides on Gareth's computer and has not sullied my ears. I can't believe you would have TRICKED ME like that!

Hang on did Grace Jones do a track with the A Team then?

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

she was married to Mr T for a while.

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I don't know who that is...

[koganbot]

Foo!

(Er, you have to know who Mr. T is for that comment to make sense.)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

yes! they called themselves BAD COMPANY and the track was called "shooting star"

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I thought Matt wasn't lying completely! Is this song good?

[awesomewells.livejournal.com]

It is like the Sugarhill Gang with added diva vocals over the top. It's astonishingly good, I can't believe you haven't heard it!

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Well THAT is because SOMEONE lied and sent the wrong song deliberately!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

> reams of crap advice and dull platitudes and lazy puns all passing
> themselves off as wisdom.

YES. I just can't bear this form of smugness - people thinking they are the first ones to ever think 'hey, following the crowd isn't cool, man' and ACTIVELY SNEER at those who do, assuming people only like the Arctic Monkeys or whoever because they are mindless hype-devourers (as opposed to merely lacking in musical adventurousness).

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

Ben Le Elton ft Get A Scroobius Grip more like.

Scrooby do, scrooby don't

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

This wasn't as bad a track as these comments had led me to fear but then I quite like the Sunscreen song as well.

A borderline tick then, but I've decided I shall "follow the crowd" and not do so. The clincher: the "thou shalt not make repetitive music" (repeated several times) line. Get new jokes please.